Skillet
by LaylaBinx
Summary: How do you thin Ironhide would react if Annabelle brought home a little friend? one of the particularly furry kind Silly and cute, hope you enjoy!


**Hello all!! Its time for a new story!! Okay, I wrote this on the belief that Ironhide had never seen a cat before (Remeber how he reacted to Mojo?) and just kinda based the experience from that. It's a little silly but its cute (grin) Hope you like it!!**

**Still own nothing, that's while I write fan fics (grin)**

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Ironhide leaned back against a tree and crossed his arms, ignoring the way the trunk of said tree lifted a little from the ground and groaned in protest against his weight. This was a daily routine: Sit on the hill, wait for the family to get home and overall just watch as the humans went through their daily lives.

Annabelle had gone to a birthday party earlier and Sarah had gone to pick her up a little over 20 minutes ago. With Will still at work for the evening, the Autobot was in charge of watching over the girls until he got home. The sun was beginning to set behind the roof of the house, casting the world in dull gold light.

A small, blue Beetle swung around the curve of the driveway and pulled to a stop in front of the garage. Pulling herself slowly from the front seat, Sarah managed to get out without having to move the steering wheel. She had progressed from pregnant to ohmygod pregnant in a few short weeks and was finding it a little more difficult to move around as easily as she used to. Walking around to the other side of the car, she opened the door and unhooked Annabelle from the car seat, stepping back as the toddler hopped out of the car.

Annabelle grinned brightly once she saw Ironhide off in the distance and waved as hard as she could so he could see her. The Autobot suppressed a smile and waved back, the movement small and controlled seeing as how anyone within a half mile radius could see him perfectly clear.

Despite the distance, Ironhide could hear the little girl chattering excitedly with her mother about going over to see him to show him what she'd found. After a few half-hearted attempts to get her to go inside and change clothes before she went running off into the field, Sarah sighed and gave in.

"Just be careful." She called after her daughter's retreating form. "I'm going to go inside to get dinner started." It would have been easier to talk to a brick wall with ear muffs on.

Annabelle nodded in her mother's direction and skipped off to meet Ironhide on the other side of the field. She scooped her jumper into one hand to make walking through the tall grass easier and somehow managed to walk right out of her shoes. Her father's child through and through.

As she got closer, Ironhide noticed that she had something cradled against her side, buried inside her jacket. Must be one of those silly "party gifts" children always manage to give out he decide, watching as she kept her bundle close.

"Ironhide! Hi!" She chirped once she got closer.

**"Hi Anna."** The Autobot responded, nodding in acknowledgment. **"Did you have fun today?"**

"Uh huh!! Look what I found!" The little girl reached into her jacket to retrieve whatever it was that had made her sleeve its temporary home. It was definitely alive, with wild orange fur that stuck out in all directions and sleepy yet alert eyes that seemed to glare at him.

**"Uh…what is it…?"**

"His name is Skillet!" Annabelle answered happily, grinning down at the now very awake little creature. "Wanna hold him?" She asked, not giving him a choice as she dumped the little animal into his hand.

Upon hitting the cold metal, the tiny animal stiffened instantly, its tail puffing up to about twice its normal size and arching its back sharply in an attempt to make itself look larger than the tiny frame it possessed.

"**What is it…?"** Ironhide asked again, trying not to return the glare the animal was giving him.

Annabelle simply giggled and grinned. "It's a kitty, silly! We found him on the way home and mama said we can keep him as long as he doesn't cause problems."

"**Uh…huh…"**

The kitten continued to put on its defensive pose, its little ears pressed back flat against its head and standing as high on his paws as he could get. Overall, it wasn't very effective; the kitten weighed less than a pound and looked like it had been sent through a dryer more than a couple of times.

"He's just a little nervous right now." Annabelle offered, noticing the kitten's behavior.

That wasn't overly surprising considering the current position. An animal that could barely count as being bigger than a rat sitting in the palm of a two story transforming robot was a little awkward to say the least.

The little girl reached for the cat but it whipped around and growled deeply as a warning. Noticing the sudden hostility toward the little girl, Ironhide shook his hand and pointed with his other finger. **"No! Bad cat!"** he growled.

Skillet hissed at him and leaped into Annabelle's waiting arms. "Ironhide!" She cried, gathering the kitten into her jacket. "You scared him!"

"**He hissed at me!"**

"Well you scared him!"

"**Well he growled at you!"**

"Yeah, but it was just because he didn't know what was going on!" She stroked the kitten's fuzzy head and shushed him softly. Once it seemed to have calmed down enough to be handled, she held him under his front legs and pushed him toward the giant Autobot. "Apologize." She insisted, holding the kitten out like a peace offering.

"**But he-!"**

"Apologize." She insisted again, clearly not taking no for an answer. Annabelle was Lennox, no doubt about it. Between her mother's feistiness and her father's insistence, Annabelle was a formidable adversary, even if she was three.

Sighing deeply, Ironhide glared at the kitten apologized.** "I'm sorry, Skillet."** He grumbled, the words forcing themselves out of his mouth.

Ecstatic with the truce, Annabelle grinned and dumped the little kitten back into his hand. "Apology accepted!"

Skillet, however, didn't seem to agree with the little girl's overall perception of the situation and proceeded to growl low in his throat. Ironhide watched him quietly and shot Annabelle a helpless look.

"Try petting him." She offered, sitting on the ground and crossing her legs.

Sighing again, the Autobot lifted one finger and gently brushed it over the kitten's head. After a few seconds and realizing he wasn't going to be squished, Skillet relaxed enough to sit down in the transformer's palm and began to purr softly.

Ironhide stiffened as the purr rumbled over his hand, vibrating the metal ever so gently. **"What is it doing that? Is it about to explode? Most things rumble when they're about to explode." (1)**

Annabelle giggled into her hands and grinned brilliantly. "No silly! Kitties do that when they're happy!" She jumped up and walked over to scratch Skillet behind the ears. "See? He likes you!"

"Annabelle!" Sarah called from a short distance away. "Go on inside to wash up for dinner, okay?"

The little girl nodded and brushed her dress off uselessly. She grinned at Ironhide again and hugged his hand. "I'll be right back!" She promised before skipping off toward the house.

Ironhide watched her go and sat still, Skillet still perched in his palm purring like all get out. The kitten mewed and got brave enough to rub itself against his thumb, its tail wrapping around the smooth metal.

Sarah walked over slowly and smiled at him. "I see you've met Anna's new friend."

The Autobot nodded as the kitten continued its trek around his palm. **"So…Skillet, huh?"**

Sarah laughed at the name and crossed her arms over her stomach. "Yeah, I think she was going for Skittle but it didn't come out quite right." She winked and plucked the kitten from his hand, cradling it to her chest. "Though, he does kinda look like a Skillet with his wild hair."

Ironhide nodded a little and stared at the kitten in Sarah's arms. Noticing his quietness, Sarah smiled and touched his leg.

"She'll still come out and play with you."

"**What?" **He stuttered.** "That's not…I was worried about…It's not what you…How did you…?"**

Smiling again, Sarah winked and patted his leg. "Mother's intuition. Annabelle adores you and she always will. So don't worry about Skillet here taking up all of her time."

Sighing both out of relief and embarrassment, Ironhide nodded and watched as Sarah walked back toward the house. Once she had disappeared inside, he let out a slow breath and leaned back.

"**Stupid adorable kitten…"**

Oh well, Annabelle would still come out every night and kiss him on his cold metal cheek and tell him goodnight. She would still call him her bestest friend ever and come out to talk to him every afternoon like she always did. As long as that happened, Skillet could stay and take up some of her time. That was fine by him.

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**(1) Lol, I know this is kind of a stupid thought but I knowe my cat sounds like a motor boat when she purrs so imagine if you'd never seen a kitten before and it started purring on you. It would be a little weird, huh?**

**Thanks for reading!! Let me know what you think!!**


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